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Cory McCartan

@corymccartan.com

Asst. Prof. of Statistics & Political Science at Penn State. I study stats methods, gerrymandering, & elections. Bayesian. Founder of UGSDW and proud alum of HGSU-UAW L. 5118. corymccartan.com

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Latest posts by Cory McCartan @corymccartan.com

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LA City Council’s City President Marqueece Harris-Dawson says he has been pulled over four times while a member of the council; the most recent was this week. He missed a committee meeting because of the stop, according to him.

Among the questions: “how do you have this vehicle,” according to him.

07.03.2026 00:16 👍 1232 🔁 454 💬 26 📌 32

I just cannot underscore enough how uselessly simplistic this WAR-based mode of thinking about elections is. And it’s not even accurate! In Jain’s own construction WAR explains 25% of future residual candidate performance, including fundraising, candidate skill, district fit, & general vibes-y stuff

04.03.2026 06:02 👍 226 🔁 11 💬 3 📌 0
Post image Demo of random convolutional feature

Demo of random convolutional feature

Example graph Fourier feature on a large lattice graph

Example graph Fourier feature on a large lattice graph

Demo of 'mgcv' integration

Demo of 'mgcv' integration

v0.2 of `bases` is up on CRAN! `bases` brings nonparametrics into your favorite modeling functions—using random Fourier features is as easy as sticking `b_rff()` into your formula.

v0.2 brings graph Fourier & random convolutional features, `mgcv` integration, & more!

corymccartan.com/bases/

27.02.2026 16:06 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

I'd very much like to return to a world where academia, the sciences, the media, etc. *can* be neutral because everyone accepts their right to flourish, but that's not the reality we're living in.

27.02.2026 13:56 👍 83 🔁 11 💬 1 📌 0
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The entire Democratic strategy debate — "moderate" or move left? fight or compromise? — is based on a misreading of data. Voters don't think Dems are too progressive; they think Dems are weak. The actual math on what to do about this isn't even close!
New: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/new-poll-d...

27.02.2026 13:02 👍 7880 🔁 2454 💬 343 📌 376
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Redistricting Reforms Reduce Gerrymandering by Constraining Partisan Actors is now forthcoming in the APSR!

We use a game theoretic treatment and continuous DiD(iD) to show when redistricting reforms work

with @corymccartan.com, @simko.bsky.social, Emma Ebowe, Michael Zhao, and Kosuke Imai

25.02.2026 14:15 👍 18 🔁 9 💬 3 📌 0
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Specifically, the “issue” is/was my (non-)compliance with Regulation 9.016. A similar presentation I gave in Finland in October was also flagged for violating this same regulation because I had “transgender” in the title there too. www.flbog.edu/wp-content/u...

24.02.2026 23:48 👍 113 🔁 14 💬 2 📌 2
How Proportional Representation Could End Gerrymandering
How Proportional Representation Could End Gerrymandering YouTube video by Protect Democracy

We need more people to know about this simple solution to gerrymandering ⬇️

Here's how proportional representation could make map manipulation impossible, and it’s actually achievable. Watch and share to spread the word: https://youtu.be/xN5V0au9Xms

23.02.2026 20:50 👍 41 🔁 20 💬 3 📌 2

finally: to the extent that it's possible safety isn't found in secrecy, it's found in numbers, and the former is at odds with achieving the latter.

21.02.2026 02:52 👍 12 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

🇺🇸 trifectas get <one> shot at doing something

Obama chose policy (ACA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem

Biden chose policy (ARP/IRA). It didn’t fix the authoritarian problem

The platform must be <immediate> institutional reform next time. Right from the start, as @dhnexon.bsky.social said

07.12.2025 16:16 👍 747 🔁 231 💬 19 📌 22
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Learning From the UAW’s National Organizing Push If the labor movement hopes to survive, it must find ways to organize in the private sector at scale. The UAW’s national push to organize higher ed, and its recent union drives at Volkswagen and Merce...

Worth serious consideration and engagement, whether or not you end up agreeing with it. jacobin.com/2026/02/uaw-...

17.02.2026 02:21 👍 14 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 2
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The Problem With AI Is Shitty Human Beings The problem with AI isn't going to be Skynet. It's going to be amoral extraction class assholes applying half-cooked automation at scale onto deeply broken sectors in exploitative ways in a country t...

new newsletter post up about all those folks who insist they "can't have an open conversation about AI"

16.02.2026 18:10 👍 137 🔁 31 💬 6 📌 3
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Order on Motion for TRO – #95 in The Advocates for Human Rights v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (D. Minnesota, 0:26-cv-00749) – CourtListener.com ORDER: Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (ECF No. 17 ) is GRANTED IN PART. See Order for specifics. Signed by Judge Nancy E. Brasel on 2/12/2026. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A) (RMM) ...

from
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

13.02.2026 04:15 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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these people are sick

13.02.2026 04:15 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Anyway, I am skeptical of many suggestions of the reform movement (eg preregistration, registered reports, etc) because they do not address the underlying incentives, nor do they alter the purpose of the system.

9/N

12.02.2026 14:48 👍 12 🔁 2 💬 2 📌 0

At what point should universities that practice this kind of censorship lose their accreditation?

07.02.2026 20:05 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Including several PS papers on optimal gerrymandering that reached the same conclusion 20-30 years ago!

05.02.2026 14:22 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

2nd chart is interesting - swing was not correlated with turnout. Consistent with a mostly persuasion effect

01.02.2026 07:28 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 1

One thing I hope people take the time to acknowledge: The sea change in public opinion has been achieved because violence, though encourage by a lot of people here online, was never once employed by the movement. Violence was solely the purview of the state and that is why the state is losing.

26.01.2026 19:48 👍 875 🔁 212 💬 3 📌 0

The administration is boxed into a corner right now and its entirely the result of the incredible discipline of the people in the streets. The Insurrection Act angle was always predicated on ICE brawling with the black bloc in street. Without that, it's worthless.

25.01.2026 22:00 👍 541 🔁 110 💬 9 📌 11

The most succinct description of the murder I've seen.

24.01.2026 22:58 👍 54 🔁 31 💬 1 📌 1

This is when the Linz stuff comes to a head. Two competing branches of government with competing claims of legitimacy in open conflict.

24.01.2026 19:34 👍 270 🔁 36 💬 11 📌 8

“Everyone should be allowed to carry a gun for their safety but the government can murder you in the street if you have a gun” is an incredible endpoint for the conservative moment

24.01.2026 17:48 👍 17723 🔁 5524 💬 172 📌 178

There is always _a_ reason. Even in the most repressive state. It is usually "they didn't go when we told them to go"

24.01.2026 17:55 👍 2 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

I am trying not to post on these events in this state of mind but: I hope people understand what the observers are doing is brave and dangerous.

24.01.2026 16:51 👍 18074 🔁 3030 💬 151 📌 84

It’s currently operating totally outside of our constitutional rules. Habeas corpus , due process of law, equal protection, freedom of speech, 4th amendment protections against search and seizure, are all not being enforced in any common sense or meaningful way.

22.01.2026 14:17 👍 2046 🔁 467 💬 13 📌 24

It's a lot of work to collect + standardize polls—no reason not to be clear about your formula for combining them!

23.01.2026 20:08 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Good to see another aggregation of public poll results, but I wouldn't describe these averages as transparent at all!

The methodology page doesn't share any details about how weights are determined or how they are "empirically grounded."
Cf the methodology at fiftyplusone.news/methodology

23.01.2026 20:08 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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119th Congressional Districts and Block Assignment File (Nov. 2024 Election, Active Jan. 2025 – Jan. 2027) - Redistricting Data Hub

would start with this from nov 2024 and then patch in the few states that have redistricted since (available on same site)

redistrictingdatahub.org/dataset/119t...

23.01.2026 16:14 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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ICE Moves to Enter Homes Without Warrants Signed by a Judge The agency has a new policy relying on what’s known as an administrative warrant, showing the government has probable cause to believe a person is in the country illegally.

This WSJ story about the unconstitutional secret ICE administrative warrants memo shows everything that's wrong with legal journalism under a lawless presidency. The TLDR is that it falsely presents unconstitutional conduct as law-creating. Very important thread 🧵🧵🧵

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

22.01.2026 19:15 👍 48 🔁 27 💬 3 📌 2